Episode Two: Logs

In this episode of RM-3, we reveal how humble dirt is transformed into cult-status ceramics; shimmering, black bricks; and rammed-earth dwellings.

Architect Dan Maginn leads an investigation of zinc, from how it's mined and processed, to its role in one Arkansas architect's reimagining of everyday buildings, to its brilliant brass form when alloyed with copper.

From ancient marine sediment compacted and pressurized over the ages to form limestone, to oyster middens—heaps of discarded shells—used to create a paste for mortar, to the stone ground to make cement-board siding, clams, oysters, and other mollusks are on the menu in many of our buildings.